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Winter Soup

Smoky Potato Leek Soup

January 18, 2022 by Tamara Giebel Leave a Comment

Smoky Potato Leek Soup combines a variety of farm style sliced creamy potatoes, garden leeks, smoked bacon and serrano pepper.

What makes this Smoky Potato Leek Soup different from the rest?  It’s the way we cut the potatoes in a rustic farm style fashion, the addition of earthy leeks in place of onions and the serrano pepper for that Out West flare. Using a variety of potatoes adds to the texture of this soup.  Russet potatoes are standard and give the starch needed for substance, red or yellow potatoes are a nice addition to add creaminess and together create the perfect texture.

What are leeks and where do you find them? Leeks look like a pumped up green onion with a white base and long green tops. They are part of the onion family and have a sweet mild taste perfect for adding to cream based dishes and soups like this Smoky Potato Leek Soup.

Whether you pluck them out of your garden, bring them home from the farmer’s market or grocery store, you will want to rinse them thoroughly. I like to cut the white root base off and run the entire leek under water, moving the green tops around to get in all the nooks and crannies.

What if I can’t find one of the recipe ingredients? The last step of this recipe is to stir in a container of Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese. This may not be available in your neck of the woods and that is totally fine. You can make this soup without it or stir in about a 1/4 cup of cream cheese and a little more serrano pepper to keep the spice ratio correct.

Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese

You may already know about Alouette Spreadable Cheese for creating snacks and appetizers, but use it in cream based soups for added flavor and creaminess. I came across the Smoky Jalapeno flavor at my local Target and was hooked. It combines charcoal smoked onions, spicy jalapenos and cilantro for a very Out West kind of flavor.

Ingredients in Smoky Potato Leek Soup

  • Bacon – Thick cut smoked bacon, cut into lardons (1/4 inch slices)
  • Leeks – Similar to an onion with the appearance of an oversized green onion / scallion.
  • Garlic – Minced garlic. I keep a jar in my refrigerator.
  • Serrano Pepper – Similar to a jalapeno, only long and slender with more flavor.
  • White Wine – Inexpensive white wine or cooking sherry.
  • Potatoes – I use a variety of red, yellow and russet potatoes for the perfect texture.
  • Chicken Broth – Better Than Bouillon is always on hand at my house.
  • Liquid Smoke – A little goes a long way, a drop or two adds a hint of smokiness.
  • Heavy Cream – Whipping cream, heavy whipping cream are other names.
  • Mustard Powder – Yellow mustard powder for a depth of flavor.
  • Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese – Spreadable cheese, can sub cream cheese and jalapeno pepper.
  • Other – Butter, milk, salt and pepper

Related Recipes

  • Black Eyed Pea Soup with smoked ham and collard greens in a flavorful broth.
    Black Eyed Pea Soup
  • Out West Clam Chowder
  • Bistro French Onion Soup with rich, flavorful beef broth and slowly caramelized onions topped with French bread croutons and gruyere cheese.
    Bistro French Onion Soup
Smoky Potato Leek Soup combines a variety of farm style sliced creamy potatoes, garden leeks, smoked bacon and serrano pepper.

Smoky Potato Leek Soup

Smoky Potato Leek Soup combines a variety of farm style sliced creamy potatoes, garden leeks, smoked bacon and serrano pepper.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Soups, Stews, Chowders
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 4 slices thick cut bacon cut into lardons
  • 2 cups leeks halved, then thinly sliced
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic minced
  • 1 Tbsp. serrano pepper minced
  • 1/4 cup sherry or white wine
  • 6 cups variety of red, yellow, russet potatoes 1/4 inch slices
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 6-8 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 Tbsp. mustard powder
  • 1 3.25 oz container Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese

Roux

  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 4 Tbsp. flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions
 

  • Render bacon lardons in large soup pot over medium low heat until nearly crisp. Remove from pot and set aside.
  • Increase heat to medium and add leek, garlic and serrano pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes until softened.
  • Add sherry or white wine and salt and pepper. Let sherry do it's thing for about 2 minutes.
  • Add potatoes and enough chicken broth to cover potatoes. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a simmer, cooking until potatoes are just fork tender.
  • Make roux (recipes follows) and stir into soup making sure to keep stirring until combined well.
  • Remove about 2 cups of the soup and blend using either a blender or a hand held immersion blender. Return to soup pot.
  • Stir in mustard powder and container of Smoky Jalapeno Alouette Cheese.
  • Serve in bowls, top with reserved crumbled bacon and more chopped leeks, if desired.

Roux

  • Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour and cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add milk and cream. Remove from heat and add immediately to soup.
Keyword Chowder, Creamy Soup

Filed Under: Soups, Stews & Chowders Tagged With: Chowder, Creamy Soup, Potato Soup, Winter Soup

Roasted Parsnip Soup with Crispy Fried Shallots

February 5, 2019 by Tamara Giebel Leave a Comment

Roasting parsnips brings out their earthy sweet flavor in this winter soup. Not only is this Roasted Parsnip Soup with Crispy Fried Shallots easy to make, it’s easy on the budget too.

We finally got our snow day in the PNW and man, does that make me hungry! It’s hard work playing in the snow all day. This creamy Roasted Parsnip Soup is loaded in Vitamin C and super filling. Top it with crispy fried shallots or your favorite toppings like bacon or chives.

Ingredients

  • Parsnips – The root vegetable that looks like an oversized carrot, only cream in color and slightly sweet in taste.
  • Onion – My northwest preference is Walla Walla Sweet onion.
  • Celery – Organic is my choice for celery, adds a fresh flavor.
  • Rainbow Carrots – Typically found in the organic section of produce. You could use regular carrots, but organic has so much more flavor.
  • Garlic – This is a simple soup, so we’re packing a lot of garlic in for flavor. Look for garlic that is hard when you press on it.
  • Chicken Broth – Homemade is best, but I like Better than Bouillon if in a pinch. It has a great natural flavor to it.
  • Thyme – Use fresh, just slide your fingers along the stem to remove the leaves. Discard the woody stem.
  • Heavy Cream – Also known as whipping cream, adds a nice rich texture to this soup.

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place parsnips and onion on sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven for 30 – 45 minutes or until parsnips are fork tender.
  3. Sauté celery, carrots and garlic in butter until tender.
  4. Add roasted parsnips and onion to the pot with sautéed vegetables.
  5. Cover with chicken broth and add thyme leaves.
  6. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Use immersion blender to puree soup.
  8. Add cream and simmer for another 10 minutes.
  9. Top with crispy fried shallot, bacon and chives.
Roasting parsnips brings out their earthy sweet flavor in this winter soup. Not only is this soup easy to make, it's easy on the budget too.
Print Pin

Roasted Parsnip Soup with Crispy Fried Shallots

Roasting parsnips brings out their earthy sweet flavor in this winter soup. Not only is this soup easy to make, it's easy on the budget too.
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Soups, Stews, Chowders
Keyword parsnip, root vegetables, vegetarian soup, winter soup
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
  • 5 large parsnips, peeled and rough chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 cup celery, sliced
  • 1 bunch rainbow carrots, sliced
  • 2 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Place parsnips and onion on sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Place in oven and roast for about 45 minutes or until golden in parts and able to pierce with a fork.
  • In a soup pot over medium high heat, saute celery, carrots and garlic in butter until softened, abut 5 minutes.  
  • Add roasted parsnips and onion to soup pot, cover with chicken broth and add thyme sprigs.
  • Simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Using an immersion blender (pour into regular blender and pulse if not using immersion) blend until fairly smooth.  Add cream and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
  • Top with crispy fried shallots or chives, bacon, etc. 

Crispy Fried Shallots

  • Thinly slice 3-4 large shallots.  Place in a bowl and cover with buttermilk. Let soak for 30 minutes. (No buttermilk? It’s o.k. just mix 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp. white vinegar)
    Remove shallots from buttermilk and toss in 1 cup flour. Pan fry in vegetable oil over high heat until golden brown. 
    Remove and drain.

Filed Under: Soups, Stews & Chowders, Vegetarian Tagged With: Comfort Food, Winter Soup

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